More Players Renew for 2011 Season

Boston, MA (March 2, 2011) –Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, announced the signing of several key players this week. Long Island Lizards attackman Matt Danowski, Hamilton Nationals goalie Brett Queener, and Boston Cannons attackman Ryan Boyle will all play in the 2011 MLL season.

Matt Danowski has re-signed to play in his fourth season with the league and his third season with the Long Island Lizards. The attackman played in all twelve regular season games last year and two post-season games, losing to the Chesapeake Bayhawks in the MLL Championship game. Danowski had 25 goals, 18 assists and four 2-pointers last season, earning him 47 points. He was named to the 2010 All-MLL team. He was also the runner-up for Warrior Offensive Player of the Year, coming in several votes behind Matt Poskay of the Boston Cannons.

Brett Queener has also re-signed to play for the Hamilton Nationals. The goalie played in eleven games for Toronto last year and saw 360 minutes of game time with 101 saves. This will be his fourth season with the league, his third season with the Nationals. Queener helped the Rochester Rattlers win their first Steinfeld Cup in 2008.

Ryan Boyle renewed his contract and will enter his eighth season with the league and his third season with the Boston Cannons. The attackman played in ten games for Boston last year, scoring seven goals with 25 assists, his most since 2007. He also collected 12 ground balls. Boyle was a member of the 2010 MLL All Star game and scored two goals.

Kyle Sweeney will enter his ninth season with the league and will play for the Boston Cannons for a third season. He played in ten games for Boston last year, scoring five goals with two assists, earning him seven points. The defenseman was third on the team with 36 ground balls.

Dan Hardy also renewed his contract, agreeing to play for the Denver Outlaws for a third season. He appeared in ten regular-season games last year and one post-season game, losing to the Long Island Lizards in the semi-finals. The midfielder had 15 goals, one 2-pointer and 14 assists, awarding him 30 points in the regular season. He had two goals in the post-season game against the Lizards. Hardy was named the 2009 Cascade Rookie of the Year.

Stephen Berger has renewed his contract with the league and will enter his seventh season with the Long Island Lizards. The midfielder appeared in 11 games last year for Long Island with 19 goals and 8 assists, earning him 28 points.

Joe Walters has also re-signed and will enter his fifth season with the league, his second season with the Nationals. The attackman’s last MLL appearance was in 2009 for Toronto, playing in all twelve games and the 2009 MLL Championship. He had 26 total goals in 2009, two 2-pointers and 19 assists, awarding him 47 points.

Josh Sims will enter his eleventh year with the league this season and will play for the Rochester Rattlers. His professional career includes playing for the Baltimore Bayhawks from 2001 – 2005 and the Denver Outlaws from 2006 – 2009. He played in two games for Toronto last year and seven games for the Chicago Machine, where he had ten goals and five assists.

Chris Passavia will enter his eighth season with the league and will play for the Boston Cannons where he has played his entire professional career. The University of Maryland grad played in 11 games for Boston last year with one assist and 22 ground balls.